Hi confuseduser,
Thanks for the responses.
You are right that was for XP, my oversight. The option I want to present involves verifying the product key for Windows Vista is still active. It may be that there is a need to reactivate your Vista Operating System and this is why it continues to reject
the certificate.
Here is a little more information about issues when the product key is not associate with the Operating System ran on the PC.
The Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program and Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) program are part of Microsoft’s on-going effort to protect its customers and partners from counterfeit software and to increase customer awareness of the value of genuine Microsoft
software.
Here is an excerpt from this Windows document that may provide assistance in verifying the Product key is activated.
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/downloads/FAQ.aspx?displaylang=en
What is genuine Microsoft software and why is it important?
A:
Genuine Microsoft software is published by Microsoft, properly licensed, and fully supported by Microsoft or a trusted partner. Using genuine Microsoft software offers you greater capabilities and easy integration with the widest variety of hardware, software,
and services. It also provides confidence that you will receive the latest product features, updates, and ongoing improvements to keep your PC performing at its best.
What are the facts about activation and validation?
View all answers.
Q:
What is activation?
A:
Activation reduces piracy by associating your Product Key—the 25-character security code located on your Certificate of Authenticity (usually affixed to your software package, PC, or laptop)—to a PC hardware key. Microsoft stores this information in a database
so that no one else can use your Product Key on another PC.
Q:
Am I required to activate and/or register my Microsoft software?
A:
Activation is required for many users of Microsoft Windows and Office in order to enjoy the benefits of the software. If Windows activation is required, you will be asked to activate during Windows setup and required to complete activation within the first
30 days of initial use. If Office activation is required, you will be asked to activate the first time you run an Office application and required to activate within the first 50 launches for Office XP and Office 2003, or within first 25 launches for Office
2007. Registration is recommended, but not required.
Q:
What is validation?
A:
Validation is a process that helps you to verify that your Microsoft software is genuine. Microsoft will ask you to validate Windows when requesting a genuine Windows download from the Microsoft Download Center or Windows Update and to validate Office when
requesting a genuine Office download.
Q:
What’s the difference between Office validation and Windows validation?
A:
Office validation is a similar but separate process from Windows validation. Office validation only validates Office suites and applications, and Windows validation only validates Windows. To learn more about each process, see the Windows Validation and
Office Validation sections of this FAQ.
Q:
Do Volume License customers need to validate?
A:
Yes. Customers using a copy of Windows or Office with a legitimate Volume License will be validated and given full access to genuine Microsoft downloads. Volume License keys have been a source of counterfeit in some instances, so the WGA and OGA validation
services are able to recognize and block a Volume License key that is being used improperly.
Q:
Do I have to revalidate if I reinstall Windows or Office on my system?
A:
Yes. You will need to revalidate each time you reinstall Windows, and you will need to revalidate Office each time Office is reinstalled.
Please follow the information from the document to verify the Validation process. It may be that this will resolve the issue.
Debbie
Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
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